It's not What you say, It's When you say it
by MagicallyDelirious
Summary: Tumblr Prompt was "I'm cold, come closer." ColdWave Len and Mick have been captured; worse their out of their time, and what's more it's Len's fault. Well, Len's fault he's stuck there too. Len knows that, and he's sorry, but Mick is furious.


Len let the back of his head hit the brick wall with an audible thud as Mick let out yet another disgruntled huff folding his arms and glaring at him once again. Normally when things went wrong it was due to Mick's somewhat overzealous nature, but this time it was on Len, and Mick was definitely letting him know he was not impressed.

Being stuck in a prison cell, was bad enough in its own right, but being stuck in a prison cell out of their own time was all that much worse.

The good news, maybe, was Len and Mick's previous indiscretions concerning the law wouldn't raise any red flags; they'd technically yet to have been born. The bad news, definitely, was having no identification and high tech weaponry in 1950's America, during the height of the Red Scare, obviously meant they were Russian spies.

Len couldn't even really defend his actions. It was stupid, risky, and he could have easily been killed, but he had to do something. The bleeding had stopped anyway; mostly.

Len, who was known for meticulous planning, counting the seconds, keeping his shit together when things got tough had completely thrown all of that out the window when he thought Mick wasn't gonna make it. It wasn't as though he hadn't always looked out for Mick, aside from Lisa Mick was the most important person to him. The thought of letting those doors close with Len on one side and Mick on the other, with no idea how or when they'd get him back; Len panicked.

Not that he'd ever tell Mick that. Well, not in so many words. Mick knew he was important to Len and Len knew he was important to Mick. Neither one of them would have made it this far without the other or Lisa, and Lisa definitely would have killed him if he'd come back without Mick. Lisa saw Mick as just as every bit of a brother as she did Len.

If Rip thought, he had his hands full with them- Lisa was a whole other ball game. He was pretty sure Gideon wouldn't even be able to stop her from taking over the ship. They were family, and that's what family did. At least that was Len's reasoning the first 12 hours they'd been stuck in the windowless cell, but Mick wasn't just mad at him, he was furious.

Not that there wasn't usually someone mad at Len, even furious, especially Lisa, but this felt different. If he was being completely honest by hour 15 he was realizing everything felt different lately, ever since they'd taken up with Rip and joined "his" insignificant bunch of time traveling misfits. Len had been sure it was the whole time travel thing, the team thing, the Rip thinking he was actually in charge thing, Lisa not being with them…

In all that Mick felt like home. Mick was familiar, the only thing that was familiar really, so it was natural Len would gravitate towards him much more than usual. Worry about him just a bit more, get himself captured, because he couldn't stand the thought of leaving Mick behind, or of never seeing him again. Mick was all he had really, so it was natural for his eyes to sting, in frustration of course, at knowing Mick was furious with him, especially, because this time was different.

They'd gotten in fights before, sure. Both of them were a bit rough around the edges, ornery at best, just in different ways, but Len had never felt as though he was losing Mick. Not once, not when he stormed out, or took off with the loot when things got a bit too hot, showing up, sometimes weeks later, tossing Len's cut on the table before grabbing a beer from the fridge and joining him on the couch to watch the game.

This was different.

As Len sat in the opposite corner of their small cell he tried not to look at Mick while he struggled with his frustrations. This was more than a change of scenery, or crew. Sure, the job had become a mission, and they were helping more than just themselves, mostly, but that wasn't it. That wouldn't make his chest ache like this when he glanced over and caught a glimpse of hurt and maybe fear mixing with Mick's anger.

That wouldn't make him feel like he needed to reach out to him maybe, and Len had no idea how to ask or fix it. It was making it all worse.

Mick never needed to ask Len, and Len never had to ask Mick. They sort of just knew. They were partners, family, it was just how it was, but when things got like this... That was Lisa's territory, but Lisa wasn't here. It was just them. Mick was hurting. Len was hurting, and it was Len's fault.

Len remembered the night they found out they weren't here because they were actually Legends or anything really. It really hurt. Len never thought it would, but it did. For that brief period, Len thought he could be something different, something better. Better than his good for nothing father, and the life he'd fallen into; something to be proud of. It definitely hurt, finding out he was nothing more than what Lewis had always told him. Worthless. Disappointing. Insignificant.

That night Mick had quietly slipped into his room after lights out, "Fuck 'em."

Then without another word slid under the covers falling asleep quickly once he was settled. Mick's steady breathing, his presence, helped calm Len at least enough to finally find sleep himself. When Len woke in the morning Mick was gone. Neither one of them said a word about it, but the next night Mick was back. Len almost wanted to ask, but he didn't, afraid if he did Mick wouldn't come back, and that was the last thing Len wanted.

Mick was home.

The last few months were a whirlwind of bullshit and hardships. One thing after the other. Almost too much to process sometimes. Stressful and draining, but then there was always Mick. Strong, steady, allowing Len to keep going when he wasn't sure he could, when it got too hard. Knowing even if no one else in the universe believed in him Mick did, but this now, this was different.

Len's eyes stung as he let his head fall forward into his hands. Frustrated. Tired. Scared. They'd been running on fumes and it was all sort of getting to him. The thought of Mick not being there, which is what spurred him into action in the first place-got him into this mess- still, Len couldn't lose Mick.

Mick was home, and there was no home anywhere, anytime, not without Mick.

"I had to," Len's voice was shakier than he would have liked, but a new wave of fear hit him with Mick's latest display of discontent. Mick more scoffed than grunted, which made Len bristle a bit, because he knew that was Mick's way of calling him an idiot. "I couldn't leave you."

"You coulda been killed," Mick's anger was evident, and while Len felt it, he wasn't really sorry for being here with him now, especially when he thought of Mick sitting in this cell alone, while he fought tooth and nail to do everything to get back to him, then of never being able to get him back.

"I wasn't," was his chilly reply, because he didn't know another way, not with things like this, with what he was feeling.

"Goddamnit, Len!" Mick wasn't just mad when Len looked over at him finally, he was just as scared as Len was. "I won't watch… you should've gone!"

"Not without you," Len forced himself to hold Mick's eyes, which was difficult, because he knew his helplessness and the fear he felt at the thought of losing Mick was evident in his voice and shining in his eyes, but he still continued. "You're home Mick, so no, not without you."

So many things they'd sort of ignored for so long, because of who and what they were, what they did; when something like caring got you killed, hung between them. Including what Len felt he was, which was not good enough, though looking in Mick's eyes now he was sure it would have been denied vehemently had he'd given Mick the chance. Len felt the same realization that he saw in Mick's eyes, but the other man recovered just as quickly as Len, just as uncomfortable with voicing such things.

"If anyone could have gotten me back, it's you," Mick said irritably, but some of his other tension disappeared. "Now we're both stuck here."

"Until Sarah's had enough of their bickering," Len relaxed a little too and attempted a smirk.

"Or just calls Lisa," Mick added, still clearly not very happy with their predicament or Len despite everything else, which made Len's heart sink a bit.

It must've shown on his face, because even as Len's eyes found the dirty concrete floor while he tried to find the words to at least apologize, Mick spoke again.

"I'm cold," Len's eyes found Mick's, which had softened considerably. "Come closer."

Len's eyes widened for a moment before a small but genuine smile graced his lips. He scooted closer to what was and had always been more than just his best friend, allowing the other man to tuck him into his side, soaking up the warmth that always radiated from the man known as HeatWave, and relishing in the knowledge this was Mick's way of saying it'll be okay, I love you, and I always will.


End file.
